The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543694
TRACKING THE PACK MARCH/APRIL 2026 ■ 11 pressed with both the team and the en- vironment. "Going to NC State-North Carolina was huge for me," Rivers said. "Being on the field, hearing the student section chanting my name felt special." By that point, Rivers had a pretty good understanding of where he wanted to go. NC State felt like home, especially with a raucous environment that he believed outclassed what he experienced at Au- burn earlier in the season. "It was awesome," Rivers said. "The crowd was into it the whole time. They're chanting 'Go Pack' the entire time. It was a surreal feeling. I just felt the energy was always there." Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper was Rivers' most consistent recruiter. Roper visited the family home as often as he could, going to dinner with Rivers to build a bond that no other program could match. "He's just a good dude," Rivers said of Roper, who doubles as the Pack's quar- terbacks coach. "The offense he runs is obviously something I like." Like his father, Rivers has an uncon- ventional throwing motion. It has al- lowed him to amass some gaudy stats through the first three years of his high school career: 10,200 passing yards, 111 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions on an efficient 64.9 percent completion rate. He logged a career-best 46 touch- down passes as a junior, completing 69.1 percent of his attempts for 3,176 yards. Rivers was the second 2027 prospect to join NC State's class in February. Three-star athlete Kamarion Johnson of Homerville, Ga., committed on Feb. 6, choosing the Wolfpack over Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern and Troy. Johnson, who made unofficial visits for the Pack's wins over Georgia Tech and UNC last fall, is listed by Rivals as a safety but excelled on both sides of the ball at Clinch County High as a junior. The 6-foot, 185-pound prospect to- taled 38 receptions for 829 yards and 11 touchdowns as a receiver while adding 34 tackles, including 3 for loss, 5 inter- ceptions and a defensive touchdown as a cornerback. He projects to play in the secondary at the collegiate level. NC State was the first Division I pro- gram to offer Johnson, doing so last Oc- tober. Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern and Troy all jumped into the picture during the January contact period, but by that point, Wolfpack co-defensive coordinator Charlton Warren had built a bond that led Johnson to commit at the beginning of the 2027 cycle. Johnson is listed by Rivals' scouts as the No. 46 safety nationally and No. 52 player in Georgia. In the Industry Rank- ing, he's listed No. 412 among all pros- pects nationally, No. 37 among safeties and No. 44 in his home state. NC State's 2027 class was up to four players as of early March, with Johnson and Rivers joining a pair of three-star prospects who committed last year in tight end Griffin Cockerham and run- ning back Christian Freeman. Both are from Raleigh, with Cockerham attending Cardinal Gibbons and Freeman hailing from Southeast High. With those four prospects in the fold, NC State's class was rated 20th nation- ally and fifth among ACC teams in the Rivals Industry Team Rankings as of early March. Looking ahead, NC State hopes that having a prospect of Rivers' stature in the class will help persuade other blue-chip- pers to join. The talented quarterback has pledged to do everything possible to bring a big-time class to Raleigh. "I'm going to try to help in all the ways that I can," Rivers said. "I don't have social media, so that might hurt a little bit, but I'm going to try the best I can. Hopefully, the '27 class is going to be the best recruiting class ever at NC State. We're going to try to get as many players as we can." ■ 2027 COMMITMENTS Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Rating* Home School Griffin Cockerham TE 6-3 220 HHH Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons Christian Freeman RB 5-9 190 HHH Raleigh Southeast Raleigh Kamarion Johnson S 6-0 185 HHH Homerville, Ga. Clinch County Gunner Rivers QB 6-3 200 HHHH Fairhope, Ala. St. Michael Catholic * Rivals Industry rating as of Feb. 25 Athlete Kamarion Johnson shined on both sides of the ball for Clinch County (Ga.) High. The three- star athlete is expected to play in the secondary at NC State after committing on Feb. 6. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS